


Top of the World

by tigerlady (shetiger)



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-02
Updated: 2011-07-02
Packaged: 2017-10-20 22:46:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/217914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shetiger/pseuds/tigerlady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate's never been on a mission quite so...romantic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Top of the World

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to kageygirl for betaing. Written for technosagery's [Impromptu Kiss-a-thon](http://technosage.livejournal.com/283960.html). (And here, have an [inspiring picture](http://www.flickr.com/photos/slack12/4112938625/) to go with the story.)

Kate's not a romantic. Growing up the way she did--watching her mom struggle to make life good for her and Thad, all because she followed her heart and wound up a widower before she was thirty--didn't do a lot to instill Disney dreams in Kate's head. She's stopped and smelled the roses a few times since she got out on her own, but yeah, most of the time she's focused on the job, on the cold, spiky facts of life.

She's gotta admit, though, the view from the Eye pretty much takes her breath away. And not in a "freaked out about the height" kind of way, even though, technically, this is a ride, and she hates rides. But the spin of the giant Ferris wheel is so slow it barely feels like they're moving, and she can look out from the spaceship-like capsule and see to the edges of the Earth. The sky is nearly cloudless, giving lie to dreary London in her head, and the setting sun is in the process of turning the whole horizon molten gold. She looks up, a question about Big Ben on the tip of her tongue--and finds Declan watching her intensely.

Kate jerks her gaze back to the cityscape, reminding her flip-flopping stomach that she's here to work. Not to get all gooey-headed about the tourist shtick. How they're supposed to spot a single flop-eared bat leaving its roost for the evening, she has no idea, no matter how freakin' big it's supposed to be. The sun's dropped low enough that the whole sky is washed a painful yellow, all but blinding her to the details below.

"Maybe we should move to the other side," she says, a little petulantly. Most of the other passengers have crowded to this side of the capsule, intent on watching the far bank of the Thames, but they've given her and Declan a wide berth ever since they boarded. She'd be fairly proud of that, but it was Declan's glower that sent them scuttling before she ever had a chance to put on her badass face.

"Hold up a bit," Declan says as she turns, the first words he's said to her in the past ten minutes.

Kate huffs, suddenly tired of feeling like a tourist. "Look, it'll be dark quicker on that side. That's where we should be looking." She takes a step to do just that--and Declan catches hold of her wrist.

"Kate." He lets her go immediately, but it's the uncertain way he holds himself, the way he can't meet her gaze, that keeps her in place. She'd say he looks nervous, but in all the time she's known him, Declan's never been _nervous_.

"What's up?" she asks softly.

He presses his lips into a firm line, opens his mouth, and then looks over her head, at the passengers behind her. He touches her shoulder, just a quick come-with-me brush of his fingers, and turns away, circling around the wooden bench in the middle of the capsule. Kate follows, confused and a bit wary.

"What's going on?" she asks again, once they've found as private a spot as they can get.

Declan sighs. "There is no giant flop-eared bat."

Kate blinks. "Excuse me?"

"I mean, one exists. I didn't lie," he says, more sheepish than defensive. "Not completely. I just...didn't happen to mention that Johnson's team rounded it up earlier."

"Johnson reported in over three hours ago," she says slowly, trying to put it all together in her head. "And you what, forgot to tell me?"

Declan rubs behind his ear. "I should have done, I know."

Kate arches an eyebrow. Normally, this kind of thing would have her hitting the roof, yelling and stomping about being left out of the loop, but even she can see that something else is going on here. The only other time she can remember Declan acting duplicitous was when Magnus stuck a redlisted abnormal in her head and freaked them all out--and even then, it wasn't duplicity so much as his idea of how to help was different than theirs.

"You wanna let me in on why?" she asks in a low voice. Low, patient tones, yeah, but she's pretty sure the _before I kick your ass_ gets across, too.

"I thought it might be nice," he says, shrugging a little. "We don't usually get the chance to do stuff like this, and I thought maybe you'd like it."

Kate shakes her head. There's a smile trying to creep up from the same stupid place that controls the gravity for her stomach, but mostly she's still confused. "So how come you didn't just say so?"

Declan sighs, then smiles. "Couldn't work up the bloody courage."

Kate snorts. "You couldn't work up the courage? Yeah, right. Why--?" Declan just stares down at her, wry smile unchanging. "Wait. Is this--?" Oh, man, her stomach isn't just flip-flopping now. It's full-out doing a shimmy and shake. "Is this a date?"

"Could be," Declan murmurs, gaze dropping away from her eyes. "If you'd like it to be."

"Well, yeah," she says before she can think better of it. Kate blushes, just enough to feel the heat creep up her throat, but then Declan looks back at her and grins like a kid handed a whole bag of candy. Kate grins up at him, and they stand there, two soppy, grinning dorks, while the sun sets on London. His smile fades slowly, as does hers, their initial glee replaced by something more passionate. The heat in his eyes lights a fire further south than her stomach.

"Hey," she says softly. "You know what I was thinking?"

"What's that?" Declan leans in as he says it, one hand braced on the beam above her head. He's close enough now that she can smell him, clean sweat and some kind of musky cologne or deodorant, and she doesn't fight the urge to lean in closer, herself.

"I was thinking," she says, licking her lips, "that it's not really a date unless there's a kiss involved."

"Is that so?" He brings his free hand up, under her hair, and cups the back of her neck. "Well, then. We wouldn't want to be unclear on our definitions, would we?"

"Nuh-uh," Kate gets out, and then Declan's closing the distance between them, brushing her lips with the sweetest kiss she's ever gotten. He pulls back slightly, his thumb softly stroking her cheek, and just looks at her. What she sees in his eyes isn't a one-night stand. A shiver travels up her spine--the so-hot-it's-cold, this-is-gonna-be-really-good kind of shiver. She stretches up on her toes, and Declan drops his other hand to her ass, hauling her up for a much deeper kiss. One that promises more later on.

He finally pulls back, letting her slide back down to her not-as-sure-as-they-once-were feet. Kate spares a glance for the passengers, but they're busy gawking at the sunset rather than paying any attention to Kate and Declan's little display. The yellow has deepened to an unmatchable orange, a touch of pink further out on the edges, and Kate realizes they've reached the apex of their climb.

"Hey, guess what?" she says, smiling up at Declan. Apparently the silly romantic inside of her woke up when she stepped onto this ride, and she doesn't feel like telling it to shut up. "We're on top of the world."

 

END


End file.
